Fatigue
by DBack47
Summary: He's survived ghost apocalypse, battled the greatest of foes, and yet he weakens under fatigue, a foe more powerful than all, able to dash secrets and smash masks. No PP, revelation fic
1. Chapter 1

The stainless steel barrel of the ectoplasmic rifle was so close to his eyes that those luminous green globes crossed to see the groves on the interior of the gun. Holding the gun were the two gloved hands of his mother, her face blank of emotions as she ever so lightly began to apply pressure to the trigger.

Abruptly, Danny backed up, white boots shuffling backwards and he sat on his bed, the springs creaking as the ghostly teenager, very tiredly, let out a sigh and put his back against the wall.

Nobody moved for a moment, only stared. Maddie stared down at the ghost that she had been studying and yearning to capture for years, while her son gazed up with glowing green eyes at her cold amethyst eyes and auburn hair.

"I'm tired Mom, let's stop playing this game"

His voice, in its usual ghostly nature of echoing as though underwater, was filled to the brim with exhaustion and fatigue, his eyes fell to the floor, a lock of that shining silver hair blocking Maddie's vision from those hypnotic eyes.

She wavered, but failed to drop the gun.

…..

…..

BEEP…

BEEP…

BEEP…

BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…BEEP.

The hand muscles almost involuntarily depressed the _snooze _button on the dreaded alarm clock. That brought little respite from life, as a minute later the door creaked open, the teal eyes of his sister falling upon Danny as she opened the door slowly, letting the light of the bright hallway bulb stream through the doorway and on to his glued shut eyes. Jazz sighed as she stopped combing her hair, slid forward across the floor and gently but firmly shook her dead tired brother.

"Come on Danny, up and at them, just 2 more days till Friday and then you can sleep till noon" her voice was soft and coaxing, but quickly became firm when the bed lump's only response was a snort her general direction.

"Danny, no it did not snow enough for a snow day, now com'on, you're going to be late for school"

The soreness of his lead weighted eye lids was immediate as they cranked open and his exhausted blue eyes began to function, brain neurons firing up, the soreness of the exhaustion of days previous returning with a vengeance as Daniel Fenton, an extraordinary specimen of a hybrid of the human and ghost world, began another mundane day.

A yawn opened up his tear ducts, flooding his eyes with morning tears and forcing him to rub the sand out of his eyes, themselves bloodshot, framed by the black rings of a sleep deprived teenager. The time for blessed sleep was over, and the day's concerns began to surge and pour into his mind, the assignment due in history, the test he hadn't studied for in ecology, the 5 dollars he owed Sam for that borrowed pizza money one day.

"Another Day" Danny murmured as he stumbled from his warm bed sheets and was introduced to the winter cold that came through his window and filled his room. Ice powers or not, the warm bed seemed like heaven to him.

45 minutes later after soggy cheerios, denial that school exists, and some rushed minutes of packing a school bag and attempting to smooth his greasy hair in vain, Danny was groping his way onto a yellow bus, hands grasping the cold railing up the steps and then the cheap rubber seat covers. 20 minutes later, after being bounced around while partially sleep, Danny stumbled out of the bus and was thrust into school.

Several hours later, Danny shuffled out of his last hour class to the hallowed sound of the bell. His brain felt as though someone had taken it out of its protective skull, placed it in a frying pan and broiled it, non-stop for the duration of the school day and then put it back, all shriveled up and dried out. Boredom was hardly an issue, with him trying to get work done between classes, during classes, at lunch and every spare minute, while at the same time frustrating his mind with tests that were unstudied for, reading quizzes that seemed impossible, and unmerciful teachers that he swore were purposefully assigning work and giving tests in different classes on the same day.

The day was only half done as Danny's 'extracurricular' began. Letting ghostly energy flood his veins, he rose, invisible and defiant of gravity as he challenged any who dared violate his territory of Amity Park.

The sun was well over the horizon at 6 o'clock when Danny collapsed through the wall of his bedroom, readjusted his leg so it didn't end up sticking halfway through the wall of his bedroom, and lay on his bed for a moment, letting his brain cool down after a harrowing hours of chase and attack, defense and strategic maneuvering as well as witty banter with the same odd gang that considered Amity Park nothing more than a place to have a weekly joy ride to ruin his life. Skulker, Desiree, Spectra, none of them gave Danny a break as he tracked them down, subdued them and detained them for release within the ghost portal.

It wasn't till well past 7; dinner and hiding the full Fenton thermos and emptying it into the ghost zone that Danny flicked on his desk lamp and considered homework.

At 11 at night, Danny fell limp into his bed. With Facebook calling, Doomed online gaming, Sam, and the ever talkative Tucker, homework seemed near impossible to finish, let alone be right. Sleep was kind in incoming, and his mind turned the lights out.

…..

….

He woke up, cold chills welling up from his lungs in blasts that had forced him awake. He had to deal with the ghost, unfortunately.

Danny silently moved, tapping his ability to levitate slightly to make his footsteps noiseless. He snuck up the stairs, hoping his parents wouldn't notice that he had arrived home so late.

A hand emerged from the darkness, looking like a black claw that grabbed his shoulder and dumped a shock of adrenaline into his ectoplasm stained blood, heart hit a new rate of beating, breathing doubling, and color draining from his face when a black cloth was pulled over his head.

A few moments later, after being carried and laid on some cold metal, the cloth was whooshed back.

A bright light, the kind of light you see in a surgery room was above, near blinding Danny. He was strapped to a table, the kind at the coroner's office and strapped with belts like those from the insane asylum.

"We can only conclude" A familiar voice began in the background, steel in seriousness, sharp in maliciousness. "That you are ectoplasmically contaminated, and will proceed to surgically study your condition"

"Why?" Danny's voice was a shrill call into an echoing room.

"Because" His parents loomed from the darkness, their faces straight from a horror film, eyes filled with loathing, faces blank in expression and deathly pale, near white, their lips a thin line that nearly grinned on their faces, their movements robotic and unnatural. "you cannot exist alive as a ghost"

They were carting two tables with them, and clearly visible were countless tools for cutting into an organic body, knifes with a hungry gleam, drills by their side.

"Have a nice afterlife" His mother growled as she lifted a small saw, its blade no larger than a doorknob that began to whir. She moved it like some sort of machine, lowering it ever closer to his skin.

BEEP…

BEEP…

BEEP…

BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…BEEP.

Eyelid slid open, pupil dilating as Danny felt his head throb with terror, a cold sweat dripping down his forehead, his heartbeat so heavy he could feel the blood rushing through the left and right atriums and ventricles, heart muscles dancing back and forth. Hand shakily went over to the alarm clock and silenced it.

The terror fell away, fatigue setting in as his brain registered new bouts of soreness from head to toe, eye lids growing heavy again, the bed beckoning him to fall back asleep.

A knock on his door returned him to life.

"Danny, com'on, time to wake up" his mother's business voice found its way, muffled but true, through the door and onto his ears. But her voice only renewed the fear that bounced around his chest.

He felt like crying as the days concerns came anew into his mind, missing assignments, wrecked tests and grades, corrections to make at school, ghosts to track down, and parents to lie too and fear.

His head so heavily laden with thoughts that he thought it would tumble to the floor the moment he rose from his pillow, Daniel Fenton, an extraordinary specimen of a hybrid of the human and ghost world, began another mundane day.

…..

…

Maddie Fenton flipped the switch in annoyance as the great FENTON sign was extinguished. The city council had made up their minds, even though Vlad had fought the protests of light pollution, or so he said. She doubted him, ever since that incident with his hunting lodge and that supposed free trip over Wisconsin, she had serious doubts of his good intentions. But then again, few people seemed trust worthy those days. Her own son, lying to her about school, grades, even what Danny did for fun was under a thick mask of lies. Jazz seeming to cover for whatever Danny was doing illicit and his friends too. Not to mention Vlad, the multiple incidents with ghosts that made her carry a Fenton rifle around for protection, because every corner, every dark alley and seemingly innocent bystander who was possessed could become a hiding place for a ghost.

She grunted in a stifled laugh. Her paranoia was getting ridiculous, but the events of the last three years ever since the ghost portal had been opened had made her rethink her own securities. A man's, or woman's home is her, or his castle, but she never thought that she would half to put her own house under lock, stock, and key.

There was a time, long ago, when she remembered a more subtle life. A time when she came home nightly after a day of work at Axion labs to pick up a smiling, tooth missing Jazz from kindergarten and a complaining Danny from daycare. A time when she would come home and cook a meal, greet Jack from his job at town hall as an accountant, and then clean the house before enjoying a movie with Jack, tucking the kids in and then enjoying some personal time before bed.

Of course, that was before the government grant that Jack had applied for, before they had moved from their cozy yellow bungalow in Madison, Wisconsin and moved to Amity Park, Illinois, the most haunted city on earth, and before she had gotten into…jumpsuits and ghost portals and ectoplasm and capturing ghosts and…

Maddie was about to leave the roof and re-enter the Fenton Ops center when she turned around and stared at the stars, wondering and silently asking the great beyond why she had ever wanted the fast paced life, the danger invested days that seemed to come around every corner. She was a daredevil, but after years of life or death situations, she was ready to call it quits. Of course, that was out of the question. Not now. Not when the city council was giving them ever more funds than ever before to keep the ghosts at bay.

Jack, who was probably in the lab shouting about some invention he had thought up, and her were getting much better at what they did. They did a daily patrol during school hours and if they were lucky, could catch a few ghosts a day. They were always small, low level ghosts but none the less, ghosts all the same. It was a great improvement over years previous when they would go months without arresting a peace-destroying ghost. But it seemed the better they got, the more ghosts there were.

She was fatigued of it all, tired. The zest to find a ghost to study was still burning down in her heart, a spark of curiosity that would probably never die, but she wanted a simple, humble life again.

It was a full moon that night, large and sickly yellow in the sky. It was a night for monsters, the eerie yellow of the moon casting a terrible light on the city. It was a night for mystery and magic, the sky filled with countless stars. The Milky Way crossed the sky like some path way for aliens far above her head, all of those millions of tiny lights winking at her.

Danny would have loved the night, and with the sign off, perhaps he could actually use that ancient telescope she had given him so many Christmases ago. To see him with a contented smile on his face, ice blue eyes that gazed upon her with the compassion and love that only a son can give was a wonderful dream that she sometimes had at night. Not anymore, no, nothing in her life was straight forward anymore, even her own son.

She took a final look at the stars and turned to go back inside when something moved in the corner of her eye.

It looked like some sort of plane at first, a light in the sky moving faster than an artificial satellite, slower than a shooting star, before she looked closer.

It was the ghost kid, that strange and mystifying ghost that was as legendary as the constellations of the night skies themselves, swooping thousands of feet above her head, out of reach, a strange symbol of power and security, or threat to Amity Park. She felt the scientist within her yearn to fly, yearn to reach for the stars and join that strange ghost, to accompany him on his daily patrols, to discover his secrets, and the warrior within her yearn to reach for a ectoplasm charged gun and shoot that entity of power and unknown intent down to the ground where he could be locked up, his powers restrained from endangering her turf, her castle, ever again. She felt powerless, mystified, angry and admiring all at the same time as the star of Danny Phantom twirled through that starry firmament and…

_Dived straight for her house!_

…

…

That night was rough, over a dozen ghosts showing their pathetic faces in his path as he attempted to find the strength to get their ectoplasmic rears into his thermos, not physical strength, but the sleep induced strength that he lacked so often due to nights of bad sleep. His hair whistled as the air rushed through it, the night sky cool and like an embrace to his exhausted self. Sleep was an overpowering wave against the dam of his mind, pushing and shoving to be let out, yawns coming every few minutes as Danny, taking for granted his near paranormally enhanced eyesight, spotted his house amidst the dark streets of Amity below, despite the characteristic FENTON WORKS sign being flipped off.

Letting gravity do the rest, his body fell, like a falling star from the heavens as he descended, images of his bed dancing in his mind. Slowly turning gravity back on, Danny felt as he began to float, level with his bedroom window. Without a second thought, he willed himself forward, the barrier of brick that was his wall presenting no obstacle as he entered his inner sanctum, eyes already closing when…

The stainless steel barrel of the ectoplasmic rifle was so close to his eyes that those luminous green globes crossed to see the groves on the interior of the gun. Holding the gun were the two gloved hands of his mother, her face blank of emotions as she ever so lightly began to apply pressure to the trigger.

Abruptly, Danny backed up, white boots shuffling backwards and he sat on his bed, the springs creaking as the ghostly teenager, very tiredly, let out a sigh and put his back against the wall.

Nobody moved for a moment, only stared, Maddie down at the ghost that she had been studying and yearning to capture for years, son up at her cold amethyst eyes and auburn hair.

"I'm tired Mom, let's stop playing this game"

His voice, in its usual ghostly nature of echoing as though underwater, was filled to the brim with exhaustion and fatigue, his eyes fell to the floor, a lock of that shining silver hair blocking Maddie's vision from those hypnotic eyes.

She wavered, but failed to drop the gun.

…..

…

Mom. _MOM! __**MOM!**_ Of all the things a ghost would say. MOM! Had it really just called her mom!

It yawned, strange for a non-breathing thing, and closed its eyes, almost serenely, but Maddie only gripped the stock of the Fenton Rifle harder, the iron sights near hear eyes centered on the thing's head.

But, why 'Mom', of all things to say, why did it call her Mom? Come to think of it, Phantom was the enigma that was the unknown variable in her papers on ghosts. Everything about what she knew about ghosts was turned upside down by the one sitting in front of her. Ghosts were supposed to have an obsession and fairly simplistic mind, and most did, but Phantom was documented of having a rainbow of rich emotions from angst, sadness, remorse, embarrassment, fear and countless others that made him an ever changing individual. It was a rapidly changing ghost, gaining new abilities and learning new tactics almost as rapidly as she could record them. Which, was mightily disconcerting, considering that rumor was that it could duplicate itself easily at this point. Despite his peaceful posture, who knew, perhaps it was just dangling the carrot in front of her.

But then again, Phantom's intents not to harm her seemed so realistic that Maddie began to consider, what could she do? Before her sat the unknown variable, the answers key to the grand test of the study of ghosts, a beautiful specimen of an ectoplasmic entity as graceful as it was destructive. If only she could restrain Phantom, bring it in for study, analyze its abilities and its attributes, and document its lifestyle and behavioral patterns.

"Jack!" Maddie hollered downstairs as her eyes remained locked down the gun barrel and onto his closed eye lids. "turn on the Fenton ghost shield NOW! And will you get the Fenton syringe and knock-out substance; ASAP because I got something you might like to see"

"GHOST!" The muffled hysteric yell of Jack rumbled through the house. The said ghost opened an eye and peered apprehensively at her, the glowing pupil staring at her with almost laziness.

"Mom, what are you going to do to me, by the way, what's for dinner?"

Why, why, why the word 'mom', why did it just ask her to eat, like ghosts actually did that, which they didn't, and why was it so calm…tired looking when faced with disintegration. Was it imbecilic? Was it aware of the impending doom that could befall it?

She tightened her lips, tempted to say something. Tempted to ask why, but terrified of what it might do if enraged. She had a knife that she carried with her, unsuitable to really hurt a ghost, and a single cartridge of shots for the Fenton rifle. On the other hand, the ghost had a diverse pick of internal abilities to use against her. Her jump suit might delay possession and suppress it, but not prevent it. Her gun was no match for a single blast of green ectoplasm that would decapitate her, or worse, use its paranormal speed and strength to simply rip her head off the old fashioned way. She was a black belt, but she had fought ghosts hand to hand before, it wasn't fun, and Phantom was among the most renowned ghosts for hand combat there was. Not to mention it could simply turn invisible and incapacitate her that way, or slam the entire bed into her, or encase her in one of his shields, freeze her, annihilation by green, ethereal fire…

The list and images of things that the ghost could do to her and then laugh in victory was nightmarish, terrifying really. Usually she took on most ghosts with relish, but at least she was almost always well armed; now she had nothing but 10 shots, meant for low caliber ghosts to neutralize it.

"If you want to know" she began, voice quavering in nervousness, tentative and cautious not to say anything inflammatory. "First off, I just want to make sure you won't damage me, my son and daughter, my husband or my house" she drew back quickly as the ghost turned its head to pay full attention, its hard-to-look at glowing eyes boring into her skull.

"Keep going Mom"

She narrowed her eyes at the unwelcome noun that the ghost had used. The window suddenly glowed green as the Fenton shield activated, the house encased in green, ghost repelling energy, followed by the enthusiastic thundering footsteps of Jack coming upstairs. The noises emboldened her and she pushed the gun closer to his face.

"And second, ensure you will not cause any further collateral damage in Amity Park. Third, find out what makes you different than all other ghosts out there. Fourth, imprison you as an ongoing experiment" she gained strength, voice rising in volume, shakiness leaving as Jack's footsteps came just around the corner.

It looked at her, its posture slouched on the bed, before it sighed, making some difficult decision. "WHERE IS IT! so that I can tear it apart molecule by molecule!" Jack almost literally went through the door, the wood shrieking horribly as the latch gave way and swung over with a bang, the door flinging itself to the wall. He was in his element, face lit up with a boyish grin, hands wrapped around some monster of a weapon, jumpsuit loaded with more gadgets and ghost fighting equipment than seemed feasible.

The ghost closed its eyes and squeezed them hard, sending some prayer out and looking like a diver jumping from a 30 foot diving board into arctic waters, did the last thing both of them expected.

The energy that wisped off its body in small transparent tendrils condensed, glowing brighter and gather energy, spinning and forming into two giant halos that encased its body, that rapidly traveled the length of him.

….

…..

Inside, Danny was screaming at himself, feeling as though wasps had been let loose in his stomach, mind pounding with two warring factions of his brain battling for control. Already exhausted, Danny gave it the marathon runner's final shove and pushed through.

Why was he just giving in to those small thoughts that told him to tell his parents was simple. He was sick and tired of being the Atlas, the mythological Greek Titan that had been cursed to hold the entire earth up for all time, of holding his secret from the people that he ate and slept with every day of his life from the baby crib days to insomniac days of angst teenager years, and simply fatigued of life in general. He needed change to prevent a burn out, a change to save his soul from splintering in moral predicament, a way out, a new life.

His eyes were closed tight as he felt the strange and euphoric sensation of being a ghost drain like water from a bath tub and the heavy, somewhat hot feeling of being human came over him.

He waited one second.

And another.

By the third moment, his ear drums had still not vibrated with the reverberations of the expected reaction of his parents. Slowly he lifted an eye lid.

It looked as if the three fairies from Sleeping Beauty had swept in and cast a frozen spell on his parents, for they were frozen in their positions, guns still aimed at him, his dad with a goofy grin on his face, mother with a furrowed eye brow and ace shot eyes down the gun barrel.

Time started up again as eyes widened, his Dad's smile turning slowly upside down, his mother's dead serious face turning horrified, and grips on guns loosening. Danny's heart was pounding again, ectoplasm stained blood rushing from atrium to ventricle, breathing audible in near hyper ventilation.

All of a sudden, breaking the building tension, his Mom exploded, face staining red in a rage that Danny had rarely seen in his mom. "WHERE'S DANNY? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM!" She moved the gun right under his nose, steel touching flesh. Danny knew fully that a blast from the Fenton rifle would be fatal, now that he was out of his durable ghost form. His eyes widened in utter terror, the fatigue vanishing as the situation turned lethal.

"m-m-mom, p-please, it-its me, your son? Don't shoot me please" Danny felt as though there was a rock in his throat, eyes watering, sweat seeping from his pores, mind and senses blurring in the moment. His mother was now his mortal enemy, face in a snarl, gun so close that Danny swore he heard the faint groan of metal as her finger pressed harder and harder on the trigger.

Jack was stunned, but, as if in a trance, followed suit of his wife, hand shakily reaching for a pistol and aiming it, aim jiggling back and forth as his hand failed to stabilize.

"You…" Maddie started, words loaded with a fury "filth of the ghost zone dare think you have the capability of replicating my son, well then, you crossed the line. Maybe entering my city, harming my fellow citizens, even attacking our house, but if you think shape shifting into some mockery of my son was a wise thing to do, think again. Why you have the audacity to even pretend to be my son, for what purpose, I don't know, but I cannot allow, will not permit, a creature that represents malice and inhumanity attempt to replace Danny, do you _understand?" _

"I-I a-am Danny Phan…Fento…o…on" Danny felt the betrayal of a mother's love cross his heart, striking the soft spot, like a arrow through the Achilles heel, blunting his mind and slowing his speech to a blubbering lisp. The tears came next, slowly rolling down his checks, all while still holding that stare with his mother.

"We'll see about that" Maddie had a dead and dangerous tone as she reached into her pocket.

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I noticed that I had never written a scene of Danny-parents reveal so I wrote this bit of junk. Generic and cliché I know, but I hope at least somewhat exciting. I will be writing a second chapter for sure, maybe I'll kill Danny, but most likely not (if I find the time and motivation…and considering how many other stories that have died at chapter 1) but THAT IS IT. Unless I receive a mound of reviews (laughs hard…like that's ever going to happen). But anyway, please give me critiques or take at least the 30 seconds to say hi._

_Sincerely _

_DBack47. _


	2. Horizons

_Not possible… not possible, unnatural, sick and deluded, IT'S WRONG!_

The thoughts were pounding around, seeming to physically strike the walls of her cranium which was swelling under the new, crisscrossing trains of thought that were beginning to fill it. A defiant Maddie held them back, absolutely intent that the entity before her was nothing more or less than an inhuman ghost... But what if? What if? She was now fighting against herself, holding the waters of her compromising mental stability back, pressing against the defiant thoughts and battling for inner composure. Her own son! The thoughts gave Maddie a new energy as she fumbled for her cell phone. The ghost huntress and mother extraordinaire would make the call to her real, biological and breathing son, and confirm he was out past curfew, at Nasty Burger; Sam's House; the local game shop; even the basement for all she cared. So long as she could make a phone call and discover Danny was anywhere but in front of her, Maddie Fenton would delightedly quell all thoughts of ambiguity in her consciousness and allow herself to find satisfaction in plunging an energy bolt into the ghostly flesh of Danny Phantom.

The aging Motorola Razor had seen better days, its chrome finishing dulling, scratches building a chaotic matrix on the face of the phone, but it was her cell phone and the key to finding the truth. She flipped it open with intent, eyes darting back and forth between the whimpering ghost before her, still in its mockery of Danny, and the glowing numbers on the keypad. With a flick of her fingers, the situation would be defused, the ghost doomed. A press on her phone's 3 key, and speed dial took care of the rest. Without further hesitation, she lifted the device to her ear and activated the call to her son.

It was then that her world fell apart

…

…..

His breath was coming out in shortened gasps as the situation turned more bizarre by the moment, and virtually stopped with what happened next. Jack let his pistol fall to his side as two nearly-simultaneous cell phone rings seemed to echo each other in the room. His mouth, already slightly ajar, fell to a full gape as he processed the fact that the ghost was in possession of Danny's cell phone. How? Why?

Maddie was like a play set swing twisted too many times and began to unravel, slowly at first as her eyes widened and her handle on the gun loosened, until the momentum picked up and her eyes trembled in their sockets, they continuing to hold the ghost's own gaze. On the other hand, instead of falling further into despair, a flash of hope entered the Danny look-alike's face. Almost eagerly, the ghost pulled his pockets out and revealed that he was not only in possession of Danny's cell phone, but his mP3 device, several dollar bills, school ID card, and even some very convincing pocket lint.

As a scientist, Jack weighed the situation, extracting his options and identifying the variables. Theory stated that ghosts postmortem collections of residual energy that gained consciousness. Ghost psychology was complicated, but the concept that he and Maddie had crafted stated that ghosts had a single obsession and state of mind, a connection to the world that they could not leave. With no conscience or a civilized code of behavior, what a ghost considered a method of satisfying that single obsession could be perceived as highly destructive or even evil by humans. However, it also seemed that the more powerful a ghost was, the more complex their conduct was. Yet Phantom had always exceeded even that theory. His obsession was near impossible to discern, able instead to exhibit diverse and radical emotions, as well as a complex thinking capability that far exceeded expectations. To sum it up, Danny Phantom had always been the exception, the outlier that stretched their theory a bit askew.

But this was new. A new proposition, a new factor to count in. The spectral entity's most recent act presented to them two considerations. One was that the ghost's obsession was to bond himself as closely to humans as possible; perhaps the ghost didn't accept it had passed the point of death yet? Or the second, much more tenuous option was that the ghost had become somehow attached to their son in a way their lab studies so far never could have anticipated.

Jack calmed his mind. The psychologists had stated he had limited case of Attention Deficit Disorder, but that when he focused, he could accomplish some incredible things. Perhaps that was why people took him for a buffoon, for blabbering incoherently most of the time? Maybe, but at this point, Jack slowed his breathing and tried to take things in perspective, hoping to purge his mind of the emotion and hysterics that Maddie was now being plagued by.

"What in _the blazes _are you playing at, ghost?" Maddie was virtually screaming in the ghost's face, spittle flying as she rapidly lost control. The ghost was visibly shaken, tensing back a little.

"I am telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me G…" the sarcastic but tense comment was rewarded with a flying smack across the face as Maddie lost her long temper. Jack was inwardly shaken when his wife began to show her rarely revealed anger. She was slow to rage, but when it came, it was like molten steel, white hot and terrible to the touch. However, he found a real eye-opener in Phantom's use of the use of comic relief in a hazardous situation , which had to be either a characteristic of the ghost's general nature or an exhibition that there was something more human in his mind. With every second, Jack strained his concentration and analyzed every word of dialog exchanged in his search for answers and evidence.

"STOP it, STOP it right now and tell me what in the GHOST zone you're doing with MY son's possessions! You kidnapped him? Murdered him? Used him in some deluded scheme to find a quick satisfaction for your twisted obsession? Huh? ANSWER ME!"

Jack nearly whistled in wonder as Mt. Maddie erupted in full fury; face red, eyes bulging in their sockets, hands clenching and shaking, and he began to consider slowing her rampage before she jeopardized what was turning out to be a rather unexpected treasure trove of data. Still, her explicit outburst was only eliciting more human emotions from Phantom, who was turning impossibly paler as he moved his lips uselessly in an attempt to form some sort of words. The attempt was useless, nothing escaping him but the raw fear radiating from his expression, and Jack's impartiality began to waver definitively closer to one of the two options.

"Why… you don't… b-but I t-though y-you want-ed to find the… t-tru…"

Jack winced as Maddie jammed the business end of the gun into his chest and clenched her teeth. "The TRUTH? What Truth? Since when have ghosts given the truth without incentive? Since when has Danny Phantom ever upheld truth? What would you DARE imply that the truth is, ghost?"

"I am…"

**BANG**

Jack moved, his nerves jangling in time with the ringing that lingered in his ears, evidence of the gun shot. Gone was the time for standing on the sidelines.

….

…..

His left side burned with the stinging pain that can only come from a burn wound. Danny cried out, agony radiating from his stomach as denial sank in. There was no way that his mother had just shot him.

"HALT!"

Danny opened his eyes, the eyelids involuntarily sliding to and fro across his field of view. Despite his blurry vision, he saw that his father had pushed his mother's gun towards the floor and shouldered her away from him. She herself was in a shock-induced daze, expression blank as she stumbled backwards.

Blissful silence fell for but a moment before his Dad knelt down and examined his side.

"Lucky for you, buddy; you just got grazed"

Danny looked shakily down at his shirt and noticed that although the skin was raw and the shirt's cloth was torn away in a neat hole, the skin had not been broken, unlike the wall behind him, which now sported an embellishment in the form of a nice new hole through the plasterboard and brick, still smoking and sizzling from the energy expelled.

"Now" His Dad stated in an authoritative but irresolute voice that was still a bit unsteady from the gunshot. "Let's be civil here, no need to go chasing cats up trees. Right Maddie? And…Phantom"

"Maddie, as your husband who knows and loves you, please, sit down and lay the gun aside. Calm yourself." She complied, backing up and sitting on one of the chairs in Danny's room, putting the gun on the desk and folding her hands, the daze on her face quickly shifting into tiredness. The pressure had been too much; it left her broken, unable to process any more stress and too upset to really do anything. The dam in her mind had burst, saturating her mind with thoughts and concerns.

"Daniel..." His dad felt uncomfortable with the rarely used full name, but, all fatherly instincts aside, he wasn't quite sure enough to call him Danny. He cleared his through and attempted to gather his courage.

"Let's talk."

"Okay" Danny's voice was small and thin.

This was it. It was a uncomfortable visceral feeling that told him that every piece and guarded aspect of the secret he had paid sweat and blood to hide from society was about to come out. He gulped as his Dad began the long awaited interrogation.

"Let's agree; no more hostilities. Okay? I want to ask you some questions."

Danny nodded in compliance and his Dad grimly began to formulate what he was going to ask, and started, speaking clearly and listening keenly

"What is your name?"

Name? Danny would have preferred his dad to ask him of his secret outright.

"Uh…"

"Your name before you died."

Oh, so that was it. Danny was faintly amused by his father's assumption that he was dead.

"Daniel Fenton."

His father coughed slightly, a physical indication of the tenseness in the situation and a little surprise at the bluntness of the answer.

"What do you call yourself now?"

"Danny Phantom."

"When did you die, Danny?"

"October 15th, 2006."

"How did you die?"

"The ghost portal."

There was a slight pause. His Dad's voice came back with force, purpose and deadly seriousness packed within each word.

"Describe your death."

"Shortly after you attempted to start the portal up the first time," Danny spoke as clearly as possible, loud enough for his Mom to hear. She stirred and sat up, slowly leaning forward in the chair, eyes drifting closed again as she dove into deep thought.

"I was encouraged by Sam Manson and Tucker Foley to try to start up the ghost portal without you, because we thought a second look might help. I put on one the lab hazmat suits and entered the interior of the portal."

Nobody said a word for the next few seconds. Danny nervously bit his lip and felt his hand habitually shifting so he could rub his neck. His dad stared the to the side for a moment, processing the information, while his mom had opened her eyes and had covered her mouth to hide her expression, forehead wrinkled.

"Go on," his dad said hesitantly, struggling with the alien image that was being conjured in his imagination.

"The portal activated while I was inside."

"Al-right..." his dad grew more edgy "And…"

"I blacked out, and when I woke up, I was a ghost" Danny stopped breathing as he braced himself for the reaction.

No one moved. His parents lost themselves in thoughts. Reaching inwardly, Danny mentally fingered that cold spark that would trigger the transformation to his inner ghost.

"Show me."

His father's words seemed to echo as Danny grabbed the bed sheet and squeezed it hard in amazement, wondering at what his dad had just asked. His mother began to stand, slowly and almost subconsciously, a few unheeded and inaudible words just barely slipping past her lips as she fixated her sight on Danny.

Could he? On the interior, he was welcoming the idea to transform into his durable and powerful ghostly side, rather sad considering that he was doing so out of fear of his own parents, but somewhere else within him, he loathed the unprecedented revelation to his parents. It was a secret; it was his! But then again, what good is a secret when it threatens you? Danny had done it once with Jazz, he could surely do it a second time.

Without further vacillation, his mind focused and tapped into the strange energies locked within the alien structure of his DNA. Energy poured from his ectoplasmic infused cells, replacing matter with an otherworldly power. His eyes flickered closed with the cold shiver that was so characteristic of the transformation. When they opened, green and glowing, the room grew sharper and sounds more perceptible as his advanced senses kicked in.

…

….

Both of his parents jolted as they felt the palpable rush of energy invade the atmosphere of the room and squinted their eyes against the blinding white light.

There was a terror within her bosom, deep and searing her whole being, that wanted to turn back the clock, to reverse the chance that ghost and human had late. Her vision cleared and saw the light—literally. The room was dimly lit from his soft glow, the atmosphere electrified with his presence. Danny Phantom sat on the bed, his expression the same as the one her Danny Fenton had worn a moment ago, but with the colors inverted. Come to think of it, as much as she was trying not to, but forced to after seeing the remarkable metamorphosis, both ghost and human were remarkably similar, but at the same time, polar different from each other. The scariest thought, however, was the whisper that _this ghost was probably her son._

She felt as though she had given birth to a monster. Had she? Defining a monster was far more difficult than simply pointing out one. A monster was typically the creature that comes from the woods with dripping fangs and fur, or some man with a maniacal scheme, or a person with an intent to hurt others, or people that wielded guns and…

Her heart fell as she realized the implications of her own thoughts. If monsters could simply be people with guns and schemes to hurt others, than both she and Jack were no better than ghosts. On top of that, just because a wolf or a dog had fur and dripping fangs didn't necessarily mean that they were monsters. Come to think of it, defining a monster was relative. It really depended on what perspective a person took.

_Stop, just quit; no more... _Maddie thought to herself, wishing she could just turn in for the night and retreat to her bed. She wanted out of this messy situation and all its confusion; she wanted to see her son again, to caress his hair and hug him closely. She wanted a simple way to live, a family to just love, not to protect from anything, whether petty criminals or paranormal beings.

"Do it again" Maddie, startled by Jack's booming voice, looked up. He was standing now, an indescribable expression on his face and a curious tone in his voice.

An inspection of Danny—well, at least what she thought was Danny—revealed that he was almost as tired as she was, letting out a long sigh before triggering the conversion.

Daniel Fenton. Raven, somewhat glossy hair, dark-set, piercing blue eyes framed by dark eyebrows set over a boyish face. When added to his hooded sweater and frayed and bleached jeans, complete with shoes that were coming apart at the seams, it all confirmed what she wanted to reject; it was none other than her son. She noticed how much older he seemed; how exhausted he was, and she felt a maternal instinct kick in. Could she believe that it was really him? If so, there would be consequences for practically shooting her son in the stomach, consequences that would haunt her for longer than she wanted to think about. She silently prayed that he was a ghost, desperately wanting to believe that his wild story of the ghost portal accident was nothing more than a farce.

White light flooded her vision.

A ghost. Danny Phantom. Something within her mind fell like a curtain and tore the blindness from her eyes. In the split second after her vision cleared, the similarities were painfully obvious. Daniel Fenton. Daniel _Phantom. _Even though the hair was awash in strange energy that darted between each strand and lit him up like a glow stick, not a hair had changed position, every lock and fiber the same as before. Eyes that glowed, that strange green in those irises, and yet they were the same eyes, same eyebrows, same face. Looking more closely, even the trademark attire, the tight elastic material of his suit, was practically the same as the ones they stored in the basement.

They were one in the same. Like the ancient Roman god of Janus, two faces but one entity. The entity that was her baby, her son.

There was a shift in the situation. Instead of fear and suspicion, a slight tingle entered her chest. The son that she knew so well had become this unique entity that was powerful and able to do things that were humanly impossible. Somewhere within her, the adrenaline-hungry side of her was thrilled and excited at the new prospect. For the first time, her viewpoint of Danny Phantom changed. Like any proud mother, she was able to say that there was… a beautiful aspect to Danny Phantom, or Fenton.

"Do it again" Jack said yet again.

Maddie felt the room warming with a new feeling. One of curiosity. She could sense it coming from her husband, his voice was tinged with a slight boyish tone, one of the little kid excited on his first day of school. Her heart stillfelt wounded, but it wasno longer inflamed. She still had a lot to answer for—hunting and shooting at her own son, for example—but at least she knew that he was safe.

….

…

Jack watched in absolute delight as his own son did the impossible and transformed into a ghost.

"Again!"

Danny rolled his eyes and did as asked.

"Again, Again!" his dad nearly bounced up and down. Nothing was more exciting than to find something new; a new adventure, and a new toy to play with. This was even better. A ghost that he knew well and could examine without fear of retribution, so long he didn't harm him. What made it so wonderful was that it came in the best possible package; his son.

The possibilities, the questions, the answers to be found! His hands trembled, wishing for a pen, video camera; something to record and examine. There was nothing to fear, only to be discovered!

Outside the Fenton works, the faint cry of "Again!" could just barely be made out, followed by Danny's bedroom window lighting up with a quick flash.

…

…

8 hours later

….

…

The sun rose, bright and rosy, filling the sky with beautiful hues. The air was warm, a soft breeze picking up Maddie's hair and blowing it into her eyes. But she didn't care; she felt liberated, free. It was going to be alright; it would work out and everything would be okay. The air was filled with the morning smell of dew and damp soil, that wonderful natural smell that is characteristic of the starting of a beautiful day.

Danny hadn't said much afterwards. He'd gone downstairs and ate a little before turning in for the night. Maddie followed suit, both of them too fatigued to think clearly, while Jack had done the opposite. The lab in the basement had become a man cave overnight as he burrowed into old papers and theories, pulled out more lab equipment than Thomas Edison had ever had to work with, and began a long process.

It's strange how little parents really know about their children. Despite the close knit structure of family, there is no changing that every person finds their own path in life, separate and often hidden even from the ones closest to them. It was almost sad to know that Danny had kept such a big secret from her for so long, but she could faintly understand why. It touched a tender spot in her chest, the notion that she had been pursuing her son so ardently for the past 3 years and quite nearly placed him in the grave.

She shuddered and placed a hand over her eyes, trying to alleviate the pain within her heart, a terrible throbbing pain that scorched her soul and threw it around. Trying to explain it all would be, at the very least, emotionally tumultuous.

"Good morning."

Maddie let out a sharp gasp as she turned to find Danny leaning on the railing of their house beside her.

"Gosh Danny, d-don't startled me like that; I couldn't even hear you coming."

"Sorry; habit." Danny sheepishly admitted before staring off into the morning rays, his eyes seemingly unaffected by the glaring light of the sun.

Not a word was spoken as they looked out to the skyline of Amity Park.

"Danny, I don't expect forgiveness, but please, I have a lengthy apology I owe..."

"Don't even say it, mom; just pretend it never happened. I find that a fresh slate can fix a lot of problems."

"But... Danny," Maddie felt a new wave of emotional tumult come forward.

"Nope, won't hear a word, mom. Just don't even think about it; it'll only make things harder."

She wanted to run, go downstairs, leave her son, terrified enough as she was of what she had already done to him. Maddie felt unworthy of standing near him, the term mother no longer appropriate. But she did as told and swallowed her torment down hard, fighting back the liquid threatening her tear ducts.

"Want to fly? It's a great morning for it." Danny asked quietly, as if it was run of the mill.

Maddie was caught off guard by the bluntness of the question. Just like that? Do you want to fly? It made her hyper-aware of the rather… supernatural abilities that Danny possessed. It was so disconnecting, so separating to feel as though her own son was some sort of alien, just asking her whether she wished to defy gravity on a whim.

"No thanks, Danny; I'll go have some breakfast before trying any… experiments."

"I always wanted to show you" Danny said softly.

Maddie was already walking towards the stairs when heard the quiet words, stopping and turning about.

"I don't want to feel like a lab accident, mom." Danny's voice was honest and clear, and Maddie felt it strike at her core.

"I want to feel like I have a talent, and just a talent that's special. That's why I go out and help people, so I can share my talent, make it something everyone can enjoy. I was getting sick of hiding it from you; I just wanted… wanted to tell you how cool it felt to soar and dive, because you've always wanted to do those things, mom. I know you want to do the amazing. But above all, I am tired of feeling as though I just eat and board at this house. I just want to tell you my problems, not to have to fear, to just be able to enjoy what I can do with you. I'm less mad and more relieved that you know, because we can share this now. We can see eye to eye, speak face to face, without masks; just mother and son."

Maddie stared at her feet and stayed still. Danny stared on with hope. He wanted to be reconciled, to feel like a part of the family again.

"Does Jazz know?" Maddie finally asked, raising her head again.

"Yes, and she never regretted finding out."

A final moment of staring elapsed. A final moment.

No more fatigue. No more fear. Maddie stretched out her hand towards Danny in acceptance.

"Take me for a ride, Danny."

"I know you'll love it." Danny's eyes sparkled with internal potential as he grasped his mother's hand.

…

….

Down in the lab, Jack fiddled with the ghost portal, a flashlight in his mouth and screwdriver in his hand as he scrutinized the portal interior, when his eyes happened to fall upon the off and on button on the inside.

"What the… I never put that in there! The off and on switch is…"

Eyes widened as he sprang out of the portal and opened the fuse box. There, installed in at the top was another off and on switch, identical in nature and, when he had last checked, working. Spinning on his heels, he tore through some papers and pulled out the old portal blueprints, wild with questioning and excitement.

The countless components and sketches, though may have boggled the mind of the onlooker, were perfectly clear as Jack looked carefully for the mysterious interior switch, before he found It.

The switch had been penciled in, rather sloppily, but in his rush to finish building the portal as the goal came ever closer, he had probably had just built it without questioning. The funny thing was that he couldn't recall putting it in there.

"Wait a seco… Clockwork?" Jack's eye brows furrowed as he saw the tiny name etched in the bottom corner of the switch design.

Far away, a time master laughed.


End file.
